“That’s River,” Rey said loud enough for me to hear. “I’ll go back in to make sure he’s quiet and won’t startle Truce.” He turned around to go, then glanced over his shoulder at Theo. “Thank you so much.” He flashed Theo this smile that was pure teenage mischief and asked, “Can you bring me someone smaller tomorrow?”
Theo chuckled. “If the weather’s fine, then sure.”
“Okay!” Rey vanished inside the house.
Theo turned Hope around and came closer. “Wanna switch back?” he asked, raising a brow.
“Yes please.” I realized the tone of my voice was incredibly relieved and snorted with laughter.
Theo grinned at me slightly. We swapped the ropes and led the horses to the outdoor arena.
“I want them to have room to run and play if they want, and since it’s not windy, I think it will do them good,” he explained as we let them go.
“Sounds good.” Then, because he was obviously having a better day, I asked, “Will you come have dinner with us tonight?”
He glanced at me from under his cap and gave me a small, tight, almost sad smile. I knew the answer before he spoke.
“I’m not there yet.”
Those words, the phrasing, told me he was very cognizant of his situation and hoped that it would pass.
“Okay. Well Riv or I will bring you over some, since River wants to make his kick ass chicken soup.”
Theo nodded once. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” I handed him the second lead rope and slid out of the arena through the gap in the fence. “Text me when you want to move them. I’ll be in the backyard reading.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
His expression got complicated then, and I stopped.
“What?”
“I saw the pile of papers on the chair,” he murmured, avoiding my eyes. “Is it…?”
“Yeah.” I sucked on my lower lip, feeling nervous, as if this was a test. “I haven’t decided. I love her words so much that…I don’t know if I should mess with them.”
Theo nodded seriously but turned away from me toward the twins, who were trying their best to annoy each other.
When he said nothing else, I left him there. I had a manuscript to read.
Chapter 12
Theo
I ate the delicious chicken soup and wondered about my mental state. I’d felt better that day, behind the house with Lake and Rey.
I’d smiled, or at least I thought so. I still wasn’t sure how long it would take me to believe that things were looking up, but a week of this fucking dark cloud was scaring me.
The manuscript had taunted me as I’d tried to concentrate on talking about Hope with Rey. I’d recognized it immediately, because I’d seen the font Ruth had preferred that Lake hadn’t changed when he’d printed it out. It had been loud and clear on the title page on top.Untitled by Anneliese Harris.
I felt a bit choked up. The words Lake had spoken, “I love her words so much that I don’t know if I should mess with them,” had managed to reach that part of me that had snapped at him. I had known all along but was now trying to make myself truly understand and accept that he wasn’t going to do anything lightly. That he was invested in this not only as Ruth’s nephew but also a fan.
My phone rang.
I put my spoon away and answered the phone. “Hey, Hudson.”
“Hey. How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice too carefully neutral.
